Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) Stock Price

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.56% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HIG. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $152.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $149.00 price target (down from $163.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.25.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock traded up $0.77 during trading on Thursday, hitting $139.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 63,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,545,535. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Hartford Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $112.81 and a 52 week high of $144.50. The stock has a market cap of $38.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $137.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.24.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.84. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. The Hartford Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 201,938 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.41, for a total transaction of $27,546,362.58. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 194,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,574,986.97. This represents a 50.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total transaction of $5,617,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,392 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,365.60. This trade represents a 61.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 349,282 shares of company stock worth $48,184,324 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hartford Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HIG. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth about $207,000. CW Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 2,663 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,873 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 78,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,010,000 after purchasing an additional 4,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,937 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company Profile

The Hartford Financial Services Group, commonly known as The Hartford, is a U.S.-based insurance and investment company that provides a broad range of commercial and personal insurance products and employee benefits. Its core businesses include property and casualty insurance for businesses and individuals, group benefits such as group life, disability and dental plans, and retirement and investment solutions offered through affiliated asset-management operations. The company also delivers risk management, claims-handling and loss-prevention services designed to support policyholders across a variety of industries.

Founded in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1810, The Hartford is one of the oldest insurance organizations in the United States and has a long history of underwriting and product development across multiple insurance lines.